The Marine Hotel Association (MHA) opened its 41st annual conference and trade show Sunday, March 29, in Naples, Florida, bringing together cruise line purchasing executives with food and beverage and hotel supply vendors and industry leaders for three days at the Naples Grande Beach Resort.

The event kicked off Sunday evening with an opening reception sponsored by Heineken, welcoming attendees for a key event for the global cruise ship supply chain.

Executives and purchasing decision makers at MHA included Carnival Corporation, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, The Apollo Group, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Disney Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Aman at Sea, Anglo-Eastern Leisure Management and many others.

Monday morning’s opening session set the tone for the conference, with MHA Board President Vina Jumpp, associate vice president global hotel, food and beverage -procurement at Royal Caribbean Group, delivering remarks that underscored what she called the unique character of the association, one she said she had not encountered anywhere else in nearly 30 years of industry experience.

“The MHA is such a unique show,” Jumpp said. “It differentiates itself from just about any show that I have been to in the industry.”

Jumpp described the MHA as the essential connector between the supplier base and the cruise industry, a forum where vendors can engage face-to-face with the people who actually make purchasing decisions: the cruise line leaders, the executive chefs and the procurement executives who determine what goes aboard a ship.

“You have the opportunity to connect one-on-one with the cruise line leaders, the chefs and the decision makers,” she said. “And that’s very rare in the industry.”

Jumpp acknowledged that supplier listings and approved-vendor relationships can take time to develop, and she encouraged first-time exhibitors and newer participants not to be discouraged if results are not immediate.

“Please be patient,” she said. “These things take time, and they do happen.”

Jumpp also recognized a group of new supplier companies participating in the trade show for the first time this year, welcoming each with a round of applause.

She noted that Royal Caribbean chefs and procurement personnel would be walking the trade show floor throughout the day and urged exhibitors to make the most of the direct access.

The sold-out trade show floor opened at 10 a.m. in the Royal Palm and Orchid Ballrooms, with space sold out for vendors. The day was scheduled to close with “Notti de Napoli,” an evening dinner event in the Vista Ballroom and Sunset Deck.

The final morning of the conference, Tuesday, March 31, will introduce a new programming format for the MHA with concurrent breakout sessions replacing the traditional single-track conference program.

Running from 9 to 10:30 a.m., three simultaneous panel discussions each targeted a distinct segment of the cruise hotel supply chain, giving participants the ability to select the session most relevant to their business with sessions split between food, beverage and hotel supply.